Government admits 50 firms were in VIP lane for test and trace contracts

Health department had denied Covid testing priority lane but new disclosure lists firms including lab behind false negatives

The government has admitted that 50 firms were put in a priority" lane for securing test and trace contracts worth billions, including Immensa, the company involved in a scandal over 43,000 false negative results.

The UK Health and Security Agency revealed the names of the 50 companies to the Good Law Project, the campaigning organisation that successfully challenged the government's VIP lane for personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts in the courts.